Pastel-Neon Marbled Aztec #NOTD

April 5, 2016

After receiving a nail stamping kit for my birthday from my loving boyfriend, (thanks Walter!!) I’ve been playing with stamping for every manicure. While I still have a lot to learn, this once has come out the best so far. I love the marbled colors underneath and the pattern on top. Want to know how I got this? Click read more!

I originally imagined this manicure as a pastel rainbow background with a floral pattern on top. But as I looked at my stamping plates and looked at my polishes, I decided upon this muted neon look. I consider this pastel-neon because they are still neon polishes, but they are applied lightly and have a light, muted look to them.

I first started out with a base of white using OPI Alpine Snow. After applying top coat, I worked on the marbled rainbow background. On a latex free sponge, I applied China Glaze UV Meant to Be (blue,) China Glaze Glow With the Flow (pink) and Zoya Pippa (yellow.) These colors together create a rainbow look. I applied them randomly onto the sponge. I did two coats to achieve this opacity, but if you want a more bright, neon look, do about 3-4 coats.

I allowed the marble to dry for 10 minutes with no top coat. I’m not a fan of stamping that is on top of a clear top coat. It looks like the nail art is floating on top of the background and it looks strange to me.

I used Bundle Monster plate BM-XL205 for the image and Bundle Monster Noir Black Creative Art Polish. The Creative Art polishes from Bundle Monster are meant to be used as either stamping polish or regular polish.

I love the way this came out. While my stamping isn’t perfect yet (crooked images, smearing, uneven scraping,) I think I’m getting much better. This nail art looks so cool, and because the China Glaze polishes are UV reactive, this mani will glow under black light. So cool! I hope to try this again in the summer but with more bright colors.